This is a weekly post that highlights resources from other counselors that I have found helpful. The counselors may be from the biblical counseling, Christian psychology, integration, or secular counseling traditions. By linking to a post, I am not giving it my full endorsement, I am merely indicating that I believe it made a unique contribution or raised an important subject for consideration.
The Addict as Prophet: Part 4, Modernity and Arbitrariness by Richard Beck
This is not to deny that addiction existed or was a problem before modernity, just the claim that as modernity exacerbated our feelings of arbitrariness, boredom and loneliness it has caused us to become increasingly drawn to addictive behaviors to reduce the discomfort we experience in modernity.
- For a resource for addressing addiction, see this seminar. I found the book by Dunnington very intriguing and highlight in the “What I’m Reading” section below.
Self-Care: Your Emotions and Thoughts by Lucy Ann Moll
I’m tired of my own crazy fear of self-care that it is extravagant. This is how I’m changing, a step at a time. You can too. The first step begins with recognizing your emotions.
- If you tend to neglect self-care, then this post on reading the Bible as an over-achiever might be beneficial for you.
Six Phrases That Weigh You Down on Game Day by Jim Taylor, Ph.D.
For many athletes in many sports, the competitive season is now in full swing. In other words, the season is getting real and the competitions are starting to really matter. This is the time when you want to perform your best consistently. Yet, this is also a time when you may start to feel weighed down by the expectations and pressure (both self-imposed and from others) to get the results you want.
- My very first blog post (circa 2009) was on a similar experience in my little league sports career.
Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person by Alain de Botton
Perhaps we have a latent tendency to get furious when someone disagrees with us or can relax only when we are working; perhaps we’re tricky about intimacy after sex or clam up in response to humiliation. Nobody’s perfect. The problem is that before marriage, we rarely delve into our complexities. Whenever casual relationships threaten to reveal our flaws, we blame our partners and call it a day. As for our friends, they don’t care enough to do the hard work of enlightening us. One of the privileges of being on our own is therefore the sincere impression that we are really quite easy to live with.
- Consider this collection of resources on marriage.
God Wants You to Get Some Sleep by Kate Shellnut
Goodnight kittens. Goodnight emails unwritten. Goodnight clocks. Goodnight inbox… Goodnight worrying about weight loss. Goodnight demanding boss. Goodnight test for which I need to cram. Goodnight Instagram. So goes Goodnight Smartphone, a modern-day rewriting of the classic bedtime story Goodnight Moon.
- Here is a resource if you feel like burnout or poor time management is affecting your ability to sleep well.
What I’m Reading
Addiction and Virtue: Beyond the Models of Disease and Choice by Kent Dunnington. What is the nature of addiction? Neither of the two dominant models (disease or choice) adequately accounts for the experience of those who are addicted or of those who are seeking to help them. In this interdisciplinary work, Kent Dunnington brings the neglected resources of philosophical and theological analysis to bear on the problem of addiction. Drawing on the insights of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, he formulates an alternative to the usual reductionistic models. Going further, Dunnington maintains that addiction is not just a problem facing individuals. Its pervasiveness sheds prophetic light on our cultural moment. Moving beyond issues of individual treatment, this groundbreaking study also outlines significant implications for ministry within the local church context.
Tweets of the Week
Sabbath-keeping involves both “praying and playing”
— Eugene Peterson (@PetersonDaily) February 9, 2017
“Failure isn’t a necessary evil. In fact, it isn’t evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new.” -Ed Catmull
— Chris Pappalardo (@ChrisJPappa) February 12, 2017
When you offer critique to another soul, do it gently. When you offer encouragement, do it fiercely. #BefriendBook
— Scott Sauls (@scottsauls) February 7, 2017
Meaningful Meme
On the Lighter Side
Because, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones,” Proverbs 17:22.
What idiot named this place Alteration Express and not Tailor Swift? pic.twitter.com/obEJAet7NN
— John Crist (@johnbcrist) February 9, 2017